According to the BBC, the study analysed the type of advertisements that appeared on Google when certain names were searched for.

The investigation suggested that names linked with black people, as defined by a previous study into racial discrimination in the workplace, were 25 percent more likely to have results that prompted the searcher to click on a link to search criminal record history.

According to the report, Prof Sweeney noted that one possible cause for such search results might be Google's "smart" algorithms, technology which automatically adapts advertising placement based on mass, user habits. (ANI)